News
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newsNiigata Gastronomy Award 2026 Winners Announced — 168 Restaurants and 21 Producers Honored
Winners of the Niigata Gastronomy Award 2026 announced. Tokiwa Zushi Niigata won the restaurant Grand Prix, and Uchiyama Farm took the primary industry Grand Prix.
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newsMake Your Own Mini Komadaru: A 60-Minute Sake Experience in Asakusa
A new sake experience program called "KomoSake Terrace" opens in Asakusa on April 1. Organized by KOMO Inc., it takes place inside Konohana Brewing, Asakusa's first craft sake brewery.
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newsKAORIUM Expands into Convenience Stores: AI Is Recommending Drinks in More and More Places
A sommelier AI that translates flavor into words, "KAORIUM for Sake & Wine," has expanded into 17 Natural Lawson convenience stores in and around Tokyo, starting May 11, 2026.
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newsA New "Miss Amazake": Japan's Sake Pageant Group Turns Its Lens on a Centuries-Old Drink
Miss SAKE, the association that has spent years sending Japanese sake culture out into the world, is launching a new offshoot focused on amazake — a low- or non-alcoholic fermented rice drink with deep roots in Japan.
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newsMiss SAKE Hosts a Health Day — at a Shrine
Miss SAKE, the organization that selects ambassadors for Japanese sake and culture, is hosting a health-focused event on April 19, 2026, at EDOCCO STUDIO inside the Kanda Myojin shrine complex in Tokyo.
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newsMiss SAKE 2026: Okinawa Representative Riko Kametani to Compete in June Final
The Miss SAKE Okinawa organizing committee has selected Riko Kametani, from Shuri in Naha City, as the 2026 Miss SAKE Okinawa representative.
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newsWhat Inbound Visitors Actually Want: A Shibuya Sake Bar Tests Four Minamiaizu Breweries
What kind of sake actually lands with inbound visitors? A Shibuya bar called Mirai Nihonshu-ten & SAKE BAR ran a tasting-and-survey study on four breweries from Minamiaizu, Fukushima, in partnership with the Survey Research Center.
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newsSake by Gacha: Kurand's "Sake Gacha" Passes 550,000 Rolls
Kurand, an online sake shop, just announced that its flagship product — the "Sake Gacha" — has surpassed 550,000 rolls to date. To celebrate, KURAND Inc.
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newsSAKE COMPETITION 2026 to Be Held at Takanawa Gateway, with Special Awamori Category
SAKE COMPETITION, a blind-tasting competition that ranks commercially available sake purely on quality, returns for its 12th edition in 2026.
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newsAI Sake Sommelier Arrives at Chubu Centrair Airport: Tell It Your Mood, It Picks the Bottle
An AI-powered sake and wine recommendation system called "KAORIUM for Sake & Wine" has been installed at duty-free and liquor shops inside Chubu Centrair International Airport. It went live on March 11, announced by SCENTMATIC Inc. via PR TIMES.
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newsMichisakari's Sake Lees Become Skincare: "HADAYOI" Joins Japan's Growing Sake-Beauty Market
A new skincare brand called "HADAYOI" has launched, using sake lees and rice bran from Michisakari, a sake brewery in Tajimi, Gifu Prefecture.
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news40% of Japanese People Drink Sake — But Over 50% Want To
How many people in Japan actually drink sake? According to a survey of 11,490 respondents conducted in February 2026 by MyVoiceCom, around 40% currently drink sake — and that number has been declining over time.
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newsFive Noto Breweries Hit the Road — 1,000 Bottles Across Nine Department Stores
Five sake breweries in the Noto Peninsula, devastated by the 2024 earthquake, are bringing their bottles to nine Daimaru and Matsuzakaya department stores across Japan.
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news"Kaku-uchi" Goes to Stockholm: IMADEYA and ANA Launch a Sake Culture Project in Sweden
IMADEYA, a specialty sake shop based in Chiba, Japan, is partnering with All Nippon Airways (ANA) to bring the Japanese "kaku-uchi" experience to Stockholm on April 18–19.
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newsJapan's Alcohol Exports Hit Record ¥149.5 Billion in 2025
Japan's alcoholic beverage exports reached an all-time high of ¥149.5 billion (approximately $1 billion) in 2025, up 11.8% from the previous year, according to data compiled by the National Tax Agency from Ministry of Finance trade statistics.
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newsWhat Is a "Shirt for Drinking Days"? The IMADEYA × UNITED ARROWS Sake Art Tee
"The excitement of a day with good drinks, worn as clothing.
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newsThe Organizers of "Wakate no Yoake" Open a Sake Shop in Takanawa, Stocking 90+ Breweries
camo Inc.
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newsMadeira Wine Meets Aged Sake at the Portuguese Embassy
On March 24, the Portuguese Embassy in Tokyo hosted a seminar and tasting that brought together two of the world's great aged drinks: Madeira wine and Japanese koshu (aged sake).
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newsAsia's 50 Best Restaurants 2026: 10 Japanese Restaurants Make the 51–100 List, With Kanazawa and Yamagata Debuts
The 51st to 100th positions of Asia's 50 Best Restaurants 2026 have been announced. Ten restaurants from Japan made the list. The rankings were published by William Reed Ltd via PR TIMES.
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newsIWC's SAKE Division Heads to Higashi-Hiroshima, the Birthplace of Ginjo
The SAKE division of the International Wine Challenge (IWC), one of the world's largest wine competitions, will be held in Higashi-Hiroshima City, Hiroshima Prefecture, from May 18 to 21, 2026.
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newsNanbu Bijin Brewery Tour: Become a Kurabito in a Wooden Kura Built in 1902
First up is Nanbu Bijin, in Ninohe City, Iwate Prefecture. The brewery is led by Kosuke Kuji, one of the protagonists of the documentary film "KAMPAI! For the Love of Sake.